Sunday, 8 September 2013

Inferno

I got extremely excited from the very moment I heard about the release of another Robert Langdon thriller. As promised it turned out to be a compelling page-turner and kept me amazed till the very end. The apocalyptic thriller has a very strange start as the famous Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon wakes up four thousand miles away from home in Florence- Italy and that too in a hospital with a bullet wound on his head with absolutely no memory of what he is doing there. To add to his misery he finds out that someone is after his life!
His doctor Sienna brooks helps him in escaping his predator as well as in remembering the purpose of him being in Florence. Meanwhile an assassin, a extremely resourceful businessman- whose organization "The Consortium" specializes in doing complicated things for his clients and the head of WHO, all pursue the whereabouts of Robert Langdon. Trying to hunt him down and seek answers from him.
On the other hand the professor is bewildered by many questions while he is trying to decipher the mystical codes left by the genius biochemist and an all time fan of Dante- Bertrand Zobrist, who believed that with the current rate of population growth the world is paving its way to an end and is on the verge of collapsing. Which is why he took matters in his own hands and designed a plague in order to save the future. The calamity can only be prevented if the professor is able to connect the dots in time.

Dante's Death Mask

Dante's death mask serves as a guide to professor as he traveled from Florence to Venice and from there finally to Istanbul.

Known as"Gates of Paradise" are the famous gates of pizza del duomo bapistry

Medusa at yerebatan sayari

(Sorry for the chaotic arrangement of pictures I tried my best to organize them but they are very stubborn *sad face*)
The historic references to places like The Boboli Gardens, Palazzo Vecchio , Piazza del Duomo, Hagia sophia and Yerebatan Sayari (to name a few) along with their description and significance is simply fascinating.
Though I wished that the professor could stop having flashbacks right in between the life & death situations as it kind of pushes the reader over the edge. The book did have its fair share of unexpected twists and turns but their came a point where I found it a bit predictable. One thing I couldn't help noticing is that Mr Langdon is apparently the 007 of the academic world as he always manages to find a smart and a pretty female side kick and even starts to like her but it never ends up into something serious.
Ironically, one of the most compelling mysteries in “Inferno” has nothing to do with the art history nor the future of science but with very real questions about the population explosion and humanity’s responsibility for the Earth. Nevertheless I found it absolutely thrilling, fascinating and intellectually stimulating. It might not be a roller coaster ride but sure was a good read and is highly recommended.

My Favorite Quote

"The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis."